The owner of the Wagner Group has accused Russia’s defence minister and chief of general staff of starving his fighters in Ukraine of ammunition in an attempt to “destroy” the private military company.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire with close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, in an emotional audio statement released through his spokespeople condemned “direct resistance” from the Russian military “which is nothing other than an attempt to destroy Wagner”.
He said in a raised voice that defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov are handing out orders “left and right” not to supply Wagner with ammunition and not to support it with air transport.
The company has been actively involved in heavy fighting in the east of Ukraine.
The lack of support “can be likened to high treason in the very moment when Wagner is fighting for Bakhmut, losing hundreds of its fighters every day”, Mr Prigozhin said in a raised voice.
In a statement, Russia’s Ministry of Defence denied “excited declarations” that ammunition had been held up for volunteers in “assault detachments” fighting around Bakhmut, and said priority had been given to making sure those groups were well equipped.
It concluded: “Attempts to create a split in the tightknit machinery of cooperation and support between subdivisions of the Russian forces are counterproductive and only benefit the enemy.”
The millionaire and his fighters have been alleging for weeks that the Russian military does not provide them with enough ammunition, after Wagner’s push to take over Bakhmut, a key city in Ukraine’s partially occupied eastern Donetsk region, stalled and turned into a grinding battle.
Emotional statements from Mr Prigozhin and his fighters highlighted the long-brewing tensions between Wagner, which has an unclear legal status as Russian law prohibits private military companies, and the Kremlin’s military.
He has repeatedly criticised Russia’s military top brass in recent months, accusing senior officers of incompetence.
He has also increasingly raised his public profile, issuing daily statements to boast about Wagner’s purported victories and mock his opponents.
Last month, Mr Putin reaffirmed his trust in Gen Gerasimov by putting him in direct charge of Russian forces in Ukraine, which some observers also interpreted as an attempt to cut Mr Prigozhin down to size.
On Tuesday, in his long-anticipated state-of-the-nation address, Mr Putin thanked his military but made no mention of Wagner.
